Amherst College Top Questions

Not really; although there are certainly plenty of rich New England kids, most people here don't fall into strict categories in terms of the kinds of people they'll socialize with

It is accurate to some extent--getting into Amherst is significantly harder than staying there. The classes range from quite manageable to extraordinarily difficult, and require varying amounts of time, which does not always correlate to the level of difficulty. While grade inflation does exist (students say that "you have to TRY to fail out of Amherst"), maintaining a high GPA is also very difficult and requires hard work and, as much as I hate to say it, some good old-fashioned “smarts”.

Yes and no...Amherst does have a fairly liberal student body, but the conservative presence on campus if also heard and most students are open to critical debate. Certainly the admissions statistics attest to the college's elite nature, but the student body is in no way ELITIST.

There are some students like that, but for the most part, I was shocked at how mult-talented, smart, athletic, and socially-adept the students were. I thought that since I played sports in high school and wasn't into really nerdy stuff, that would make me WAY cooler than all the students at Amherst, but I was wrong, Amherst students are just as cool and normal as people anywhere else, except they are really smart too.

Some are, some are more than others. Depends on the person.

the majority by far do not fit that stereotype. of course those kids exist on campus, but you'll find that clique virtually anywhere you go.

Half true. There are plenty of geeks here but I'd say half the population here are kids who socialize and go out on a regular basis. Also, there are tons of student athletes here, it seems almost everyone plays something.

For the most part these stereotypes are true. Many Amherst students are liberal, however there are a fair number of conservative students as well. The opportunity to voice your political opinion is certainly present, but it's also accepted not to voice your views. For the most part many Amherst students are well-rounded and participate in a lot of activities. I am a member of the swim team, and the majority of my teammates are also involved in other activities requiring significant commitments.

All of these types exist here (as they would any other prestigious college), but there are plenty of students here who are "unique". We have our hippies, our fanboy and fangirl geeks, our druggies, our activists, our sports fanatics, our political nutsos, our fashionistas, and our average, everyday lovable freaks. It's all good.

while it's true that many students here are very wealthy and come from elite prep schools, it's not fair to associate the stereotype with the actual character of students here. For the most part, everyone here shares deep intellectual curiosity, a common set of values, and an extremely strong desire to succeed. Whether or not they go about their daily lives in pearls and collared shirts is somewhat irrelevant, unless you are unable to see past such superficialities. Amherst is very liberal, but there is a core of conservative professors and students that really balance out the political climate here. and, going along with the prep school stereotype, amherst is a lot more conservative than people think due to the population of rich white kids.